Thesis driven paper on an aspect of the vietnam war - Essay Example

The victims, soldiers, commanders, and political leaders who were directly involved obviously have their say. In the same way those who were at the opposite end of the spectrum- the dissenters, the war protestors, draft dodgers as well as the super-patriots - do have their own readings on the war and its outcomes. There are many who really believe that United States’ intervention in to the war was quite unnecessary and that the incompetent foreign policy of the US has adversely affected the lives of many ordinary Vietnamese, caused them poverty, misery, and anguish. The U.S did have its own political motives and ideological stand- that of preservation of human rights, liberty, democracy and the spread of capitalism.

Thus, in a wider perspective the Vietnam War can be read as the battle of ideas – communism of North Vietnamese supported by the Soviet Union and its allies versus the capitalism of South Vietnamese supported by the U.S and its allies. The essay attempts to make a probe not so as to who won this battle of ideas –whether the triumphant North communist or the well-thought Americans who finally retreated from the battlefield; rather it focuses on who lost the battle with a special reference to the foreign policies of America during the various stages of the war- the reaction of American citizens in particular to the whole issue, how the international community viewed the foreign policy of America in the Vietnam war, how it affected the political atmosphere of the country , and up to what extent the motives of the American Government can be justified.

For ages, America’s foreign policy has been one of intervention and domination; it has always tried to assert its supremacy over other nations politically, economically and ideologically. One always tends to seek the ultimate result of such a step and one comes to realize that the great nation has faltered in its treatment of the Vietnam people. Even though, Americas